Ghetto better suited than Gabs - ATI show organisers
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Sunday January 30, 2022 06:00
During the last press conference of the music concert, some people where not happy with the location of the event as they preferred it to be held in Gaborone. As One Music concert is a revolution towards a united Botswana, it is a unique music show that will depict ATI's journey (born Atasaone Molemogi) in music and a way of celebrating the incredible support he has had and continues to get from his fans and supporters.
The mega concert will be held at the Obed Itani Chilume stadium in Francistown on May 28 under the theme 'National unity towards prosperity for all'. In an interview with this publication after Obed Itani Chilume Stadium tour, Okie said they chose the second city as their venue as opposed to Gaborone because they felt ATI's fans are from across the country.
Therefore, Francistown is in a better position because it is in the northern gateway to all the areas in Botswana.
She further said the mentality of everything being central in Gaborone should stop as every area in the country deserves the opportunity to host events of the magnitude of the show. She added that due to easy accessibility, they are anticipating thousands of fans hence their preferred venue, Obed Itani Chilume Stadium which has the biggest capacity of about 26,000. She said: “People have been questioning us why we chose Francistown as opposed to Gaborone. As a nation, we need to recognise the fact that we are one.
In the same manner that people from Kasane drive all the way to Gaborone for festivals they need to come to the second city.” Okie added that Francistown was a central place and they wanted everyone from as far as Zwenshambe and Shakawe to be able to attend the show. She indicated that the main focus should revolve around the sole purpose of the concert and not where it should be held. When speaking of security issues, ATI’s show business partner revealed that security will be their main priority for the safety of the patrons.
Okie highlighted that security is going to be tight as they are going to engage a robust team of various security services who are well experienced at managing night show crowds and can adequately deliver their services. She said: “The reason why we came to tour the venue is to help us start finalising the conceptualisation stage in order to incorporate all the logistics.” Okie also indicated that they are even planning to use the child play for their festival setup which is usually costly. She disclosed that people also criticised the chosen venue due to chaos that took place during the last event held in December at the stadium.
During the time, all hell broke loose when some attendants started throwing bottles towards the main stage leaving some of the fans fleeing the place while others sustained some deep cuts before the performance of an international act. For the past big music events held at the same stadium, the organisers have been using the parking space for the event. On other matters, she further said that they are tirelessly working to get sponsors so that they can be able to afford the playing ground. For his part the energetic multi-talented artist said that chose Francistown as their host area because there are chances of a successful event. He said through the concert, they are going to promote the spirit of unity amongst Batswana.
The artist stated that it was high time the second city started benefiting from mega music shows by contributing immensely to the growth of the informal sector. He expressed gratitude to his fans, leadership here and other stakeholders for their for their great reception.
Tickets are available via web-tickets as follows, children P50, early bird P100, general P250, VIP P500 and VVIP at P1,500.